‘Brave Frenchmen, will you not surrender?’ Cambronne answered, ‘Merde!’

‘Reader, if you’re ready, so am I.’

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’

Giovanni Boccaccio

01

Mrs Rosie and the Priest

GiovanniBoccaccio

PenguinClassics

Mrs Rosieandthe Priest

Nº 01

Gerard Manley Hopkins

02

As kingfishers catch fire

GerardManley Hopkins

PenguinClassics

As kingfisherscatch fire

Nº 02

Anon

03

The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-tongue

PenguinClassics

The Saga ofGunnlaugSerpent-tongue

Nº 03

Thomas De Quincey

04

On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts

ThomasDe Quincey

PenguinClassics

On MurderConsidered asOne of theFine Arts

Nº 04

Friedrich Nietzsche

05

Aphorisms on Love and Hate

FriedrichNietzsche

PenguinClassics

Aphorismson Loveand Hate

Nº 05

John Ruskin

06

Traffic

John Ruskin

PenguinClassics

Traffic

Nº 06

Pu Songling

07

Wailing Ghosts

Pu Songling

PenguinClassics

WailingGhosts

Nº 07

Jonathan Swift

08

A Modest Proposal

JonathanSwift

PenguinClassics

A ModestProposal

Nº 08

Anon

09

Three Tang Dynasty Poets

PenguinClassics

ThreeTang Dynasty Poets

Nº 09

Walt Whitman

10

On the Beach at Night Alone

WaltWhitman

PenguinClassics

On the Beachat NightAlone

Nº 10

Kenko

11

A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees

Kenko

PenguinClassics

A Cup of SakeBeneath theCherry Trees

Nº 11

Baltasar Gracián

12

How to Use Your Enemies

BaltasarGracián

PenguinClassics

How to UseYour Enemies

Nº 12

John Keats

13

The Eve of St Agnes

John Keats

PenguinClassics

The Eve ofSt Agnes

Nº 13

Thomas Hardy

14

Woman Much Missed

ThomasHardy

PenguinClassics

WomanMuch Missed

Nº 14

Guy de Maupassant

15

Femme Fatale

Guy de Maupassant

PenguinClassics

FemmeFatale

Nº 15

Marco Polo

16

Travels in the Land of Serpents and Pearls

Marco Polo

PenguinClassics

Travels in theLand of Serpentsand Pearls

Nº 16

Suetonius

17

Caligula

Suetonius

PenguinClassics

Caligula

Nº 17

Apollonius of Rhodes

18

Jason and Medea

Apolloniusof Rhodes

PenguinClassics

Jasonand Medea

Nº 18

Robert Louis Stevenson

19

Olalla

RobertLouisStevenson

PenguinClassics

Olalla

Nº 19

& Friedrich Engels

20

The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx&Friedrich Engels

PenguinClassics

The CommunistManifesto

Nº 20

Petronius

21

Trimalchio’s Feast

Petronius

PenguinClassics

Trimalchio’sFeast

Nº 21

Johann Peter Hebel

22

How a Ghastly Story Was Brought to Light

JohannPeter Hebel

PenguinClassics

How a Ghastly StoryWas Brought to Light bya Common or GardenButcher’s Dog